Page 60 of Hidden Daughters (Detective Lottie Parker #15)

FRIDAY

‘I’m home, Brigid,’ he shouted as he shoved his carry-on case inside the door.

Not a sound. He checked his watch. It was only breakfast time, and she always kept hot food for him. But there was no smell of anything recently cooked.

‘Brigid?’

She rarely went out unless to the shops for something, and that wasn’t a regular occurrence.

They did online groceries with delivery added.

He thought it was the best invention yet.

He was so looking forward to a full breakfast of rashers and sausages and eggs.

He sniffed again. No, he couldn’t smell it.

He sat on the bottom step of the stairs and kicked off his shoes. His socks were wet with sweat, so he tugged them off too. He found his slippers on the floor under the coat stand. It was good to be home.

He looked into the parlour – the good room, Brigid called it.

Empty. Maybe she was still in bed. That would be unusual.

She was always up at the crack of dawn. But she was constantly in pain from her arthritis, and he figured he should talk to her about taking things a bit easier.

Maybe get her extra help. No, he couldn’t imagine her agreeing to that.

He pushed in the door to the kitchen. It appeared empty.

Definitely nothing cooked for him. There was just a stale smell.

Maybe it was from yesterday’s food. Or the bin.

It was his job to empty the rubbish into the outside bin.

He’d do that first before he boiled the kettle, or maybe he’d have a cup of tea first. He went to the corner where the kettle usually sat. No kettle.

‘Brigid?’

His voice echoed back at him in the stillness of the house. He backed out and glanced up the stairs. Her room was on the first floor. His, on the second, was an attic room, but he liked its quaintness and the privacy it provided.

‘Are you up there?’

Silence.

He climbed the stairs and knocked on her door. No answer. He turned the handle and peered in. Her bed was made and the room was spotless. He went to the bathroom. The door was ajar. Water on the floor. He pushed the door in further. His hand flew to his mouth and he stifled a shout.

There was no point in going in to check. He knew death when he saw it. He dropped to his knees and blessed himself. He said a prayer for the dead before gingerly making his way back down the stairs to the phone in the hall.

He’d forgotten he could have used his mobile, such was his shock at what he’d seen.